November, 2004
Yagya Journal
Kanchipuram, South India
November, 2004
Dhanvantri
This month the yagyas were focused on Dhanvantri, the form of Vishnu related to health and medicine. We are performing special yagyas on three different Wednesdays for him. Here we see the Kalasa with coconut and fresh flower garlands after the puja has been performed. One of the goals of the yagya program is to preserve and support the continued training of priests in the Vedic tradition. Here we see three students participanting in the puja under the direction of four of our priests.  
The priests are chanting during the puja and you can see the puja room in the background. One of the advantages of holding the yagyas in India, is that the traditional ingredients are readily available. Most yagyas are very specific in the number and types of grains, fruits, wood, and spices that are offered into the yagya fire.  
The homa kund, in which the yagya fire is lit, was built so large that we also had to have special seats made for the priests to sit on. Here we see the beginning of the yagya while the fire is still small.

Navaratri Celebrations
October, 2004

The Navaratri celebration was very very successful and enjoyed by all who attended. The photo above shows the puja room in the Kanchipuram facility. Note the beautiful new diety murtis.

We were fortunate to hire a special priest to perform the Chandi Yagya on several of the days.
During the Chandi Yagya, the long hymn to the goddess in the form of Durga is chanted. At the conclusion of each chapter a variety of traditional fruits, grains, spices, oils, and flowers are offered into the yagya fire.

The video above shows the conclusion of the Chandi Homam after most of the chanting has been completed. They are singing Sri Suktam and Mantra Pushpam as the special priest is offering a variety of spices (turmeric, sandalwood, etc) some oil and a fresh flower mala into the yagya fire. The fire (Agni) is considered to be divine because he takes the offerings, and by consuming them takes them to the deity, in this case the goddess Chandi.

To view the video you will need to have Windows Media Player installed. If you have Win XP with Service Pack 2 installed, be sure to click the Enable Active Content when the yellow message appears on the top of the browser window.